1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to body-on-frame type vehicles, and, more specifically, to a method and apparatus for attaching the body of a body-on-frame vehicle to the frame to reduce side impact forces present in such a vehicle during a side impact collision.
2. Description of the Related Art
A body-on-frame vehicle is one in which the body is a separate component from the frame. FIG. 1 shows a typical body-on-frame vehicle 10. Body 12 is attached to frame 14 via a plurality of bolts 16, which sit on mounts 18. This is in contrast to a vehicle that comprises unitized body design, in which the body and frame are integral. This is shown in FIG. 2, which shows a typical unitized body vehicle 20. Most automobiles are constructed using a unitized body design and most trucks, utility vehicles and sport utility vehicles are constructed using body-on-frame design. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the body of a body-on-frame vehicle typically is bolted to the frame via bolts which pass through rubber mounts placed between the body and the frame. These mounts can be carefully selected to tune the vehicle's ride, enabling a typically stiff-suspensioned vehicle such as a truck or a utility vehicle to achieve better ride performance. Body-on-frame vehicles can be more easily tuned than unibody vehicles to achieve both good handling and smooth ride, regardless of the weight of the cargo. Additionally, most body-on-frame vehicles (such as trucks) currently are not subject to side impact requirements, but will be in the future. Due to their construction, however, they offer less resistance to side impact forces than unitized designs. Thus, a need exists for an apparatus and a method to reduce side impact forces present in a body-on-frame vehicle during a collision.